


After the Dawn

by TheLuckyFateReviewer



Category: Fate/EXTRA
Genre: Alternate Take of the End of the Dawn Arc, Depression, F/F, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suicide Attempt, What If Hakuno didn't go back to the past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:42:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25161070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLuckyFateReviewer/pseuds/TheLuckyFateReviewer
Summary: After the Dawn, upon a throne sits a girl who lost everything. Everything she fought for, all the people she had hurt, had been for nothing.With a dwindling will to live, a figure from the past returns to mends the girl's wounds.aka;Post-Dawn Arc Hakuno has to come to terms with what she has done and her failures.(One-shot turned into Hakuno x Sakura story)
Relationships: Kishinami Hakuno/Altera (Mentioned), Kishinami Hakuno/Nero (Mentioned), Kishinami Hakuno/Sakura, Kishinami Hakuno/Tamamo (Mentioned)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, just was in the mood to write this. I do not know why I did. Probably won't become a full-blown series, unless I end up getting ideas. Just a little fun thing I wanted to write.

Hakuno sat on the throne of Altera's now-empty base within the Zero Dark, contemplating her loneliness. Her three fragmented selves, the Mind, Body, and Soul, had been reunited, but instead of returning to the peace they were promised having won the Grail War with her two servants, she was alone. Nero and Tamamo were both dead. The maiden the body had fought so hard to try and save was gone as well, forced to be killed less she went on a ramage and destroyed everything.

All the servants that had fought under the three were gone as well. Nero's generals: Nameless, Cu Chulainn, Gawain, and Li Shuwen had died during the battles of Mare Mellum and Mare Aurum. Tamamo's generals: Lu Bu, Medusa, and Karna, were defeated during Tamamo's attempt to take Mare Origo and the battle of Mare Luxuria. As for Altera's allies: Iskandar and Jeanne were both gone. They had been summoned to deal with Altera, and, now that Altera was gone, their purpose was fulfilled. She doubted they left of their own volition, and it was likely the Moon Cell's doing. 

Then there was Gilgamesh. She had no idea where he went after he helped her and Altera when Archimedes had held her hostage to get the Regalias from her. He probably went back to the Far Side, having mentioned he originally came from the Far Side to fight for Altera. 

Then there was Archimedes and Elizabeth. The Mastermind behind it all and the loyal dragon. She already knew Archimedes was the one to have started all this by bringing them to the Zero Dark. As for Elizabeth, it was clear she was being controlled by Velber. Yet, she could do nothing as the two of them forced Altera to become Sefar, forcing her and Hero Altera to destroy Titan Altera. Of course, the two managed to slide into another timeline during the fight. 

Now, here she was: without any servant or ally, without any place to call home. The Millennium Capital was destroyed, Neo Rome was in ruins, and, soon, this place will be removed, the Zero Dark no longer having a purpose with Sefar gone. She was all alone. 

Maybe there could have been a way for her to have followed Archimedes and Elizabeth to whatever timeline they went to, but that chance has passed. With the Quantum Time Lock already happened, she couldn't go back and try to fix all this. She was stuck in a world where she had lost everything.

She looked at the complete Regalia. The gem to the top left being Green, the one that Altera and the Body had come to possess. The middle one had a red gem representing the one Nero, and the Mind had gained. The gem to the bottom right was blue, being the one Tamamo and the Soul had gotten hold of. Each one simply reminded her of what she had lost.

She had failed as Sovereign of the Moon Cell. The place she was supposed to protect was in ruins. Sure, maybe there were survivors. Perhaps, they would be able to rebuild. She, however, would not lead them. She couldn't...not without the servants who she had won the war with. 

She slowly stood up as she began to leave the palace within Mare Origo. This place, along with the rest of the Zero Dark, would be destroyed soon. She could stay and die along with the rest of the Zero Dark, but she was too stubborn to give up like that.

She may have resigned from ruling SE.RA.PH., but she has been through too much to simply give up on living. On her way out, she came across a cloak. She didn't want to be recognized, should she ever enter Mare Aurum or any of the other territories. 

Without her servants, Hakuno Kishinami might as well be dead. 

She took the worn cloaked and wrapped it around her, and pulled it over her head. She took one last look at the area of Mare Origo. She would never come back to this place. Never spend time in that cavern with Titan that wanted to try and defy her fate. Just as she would never spend time with the fox caster who wanted to be loved or the Emperor who only wanted to be praised for the hard work she did for the people. 

She turned back and kept walking, tears beginning to fall down upon her cheeks. She had lost everything in an attempt to save Altera. She had failed and lost every one. 

Perhaps this was karma for all the lives she took during the Grail War, finally catching up to her. Having taken so many lives, she simply wanted to live a peaceful life with her servants. It was arrogant to think she deserved such a thing after killing so many people during the war.

Perhaps it's better if the world believed she was dead. She certainly already felt like she was dead. A life without her servants is not one she could live with and, yet, she has to. For their sakes...she had to live, not that she knew the first thing about living.

Soon, she was out of the Zero Dark. There, she simply picked a direction that wouldn't lead to Neo Rome and the Millennium Captial and started walking. SE.RA.PH. was ever-expanding, she was sure she'd find a quiet place to spend the rest of her days alone and miserable. 

"Nero, Tamamo, Altera...I'm sorry you all ended up with a worthless Master like me."

It was all she could muster to say before silence retook her, and she walked without purpose or aim. A new dawn had risen on SE.RA.PH. For many, it would be one without factions of Servant fighting one another. For her, it was the dawn of a world where she had lost those she cherished the most—a world where she had failed everyone and was all alone—a world with a dead Nero, Tamamo, and Altera.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, ended up deciding to turn this into a Hakuno x Sakura story since there is not any for this pairing what so ever. Not sure where this will go but here we go.

Hakuno found herself a nice place on the countryside of SE.RA.PH. , away from what was once Nero's Rome and the Millenium Capital. It had been two weeks since the final battle between Nero and Altera in the Zero Dark. Two weeks since she had lost everything.

So far, the repairs to Rome have been going well from what she had heard the few times she had gone into the nearby village for supplies. The city was in better shape than she predicted it would have been in. There was even talks about the people beginning to plan on the rebuilding of the Millineum capital. 

Of course, the main talk she would always hear is how Nero and the Sovereign of SE.RA.PH. were still missing. As far as the NPCs and citizens knew, the two had gone into the Zero Dark to put an end to the war with the Zero Dark forces but haven't returned. There was no official word but, considering the forces have disappeared, but Nero and herself haven't returned, many begin to believe that they died taking the leaders down with them.

With both Nero and Tamamo's factions in ruins, there was no one to go and make sure. No one to confirm what happened. She would be the only one to know what happened in the Zero Dark. She had made sure to keep her face concealed. It helped she was an NPC that has simply become aware, but she made sure nobody noticed who she was. 

Perhaps she was doing the wrong thing by abandoning everything she fought for, but...

It was for the best. 

All her choices have ever done is gotten people killed. She tried to free Altera and look at what that cost her.

Nero, Tamamo, Altera, Nameless, Cu Chullain, Li Shuwen, Gawain, Medusa, Karna, Lu Bu.

It wasn't even the first time she had gotten blood on her hands by trying to survive and do the right things. She could never forget what happened during the war. What happened during that blood bathe.

Shinji, Dan, Alice, Julius, Rin, Rani, Leo...

In her short existence, she had killed and gotten so many killed...

No matter how hard she tried to think of the good side of what had happened, she found nothing. Nothing good came from her attempt to save Altera. All it did was cause so much destruction and death only for Altera to be forced to kill her out of control self. 

It made her feel worse with how close she had gotten to making all the death and destruction worthwhile. They had defeated Archimedes, but they didn't kill him. She should have made sure Altera turned him into nothing. After everything he did, being the cause for all of this, she should have made sure Altera obliterated him before the two got into that argument over what to do about her. 

And because of that mistake, she lost the one person she sacrificed everything else for. 

Now, here she was, alone in her humble abode—no Nero to sing or ask to be praised, no Tamamo to be the faithful wife she always wanted to be...no Altera to show that there was more to the world than simple destruction.

She was alone...free to reflect on everything and question why it had to be her that survive the war. Logically, the answer was simple. She was the only one who could have won. Twice and Saver had made sure of that. 

Yet, she couldn't stop asking herself that question. What good had she actually done since she won that war? Got tricked by Archemedies into following him into a trap, getting herself caught and forcing herself to split into three. Then, just as she managed to get through to Altera, she loses her. And Nero and Tamamo? They both got a piece of her only to start a war over taking the other's portion of her. 

No matter how hard she tried, she would always either get people kill, kill them herself, or be the reason people fight. 

And she was tired of it. Tired of this sick joke, that was her existence. She thought she would be done with wars when she won the grail war and became the lone Master of the Moon. She just wanted to live.

So why did that lead to her having to kill so many people to do so...

She had been in the kitchen area of her home, preparing dinner through all these thoughts. Trying to continue living despite everything inside her telling her to give up and let go. She would like to believe that it was only her exhaustion from lack of proper sleep over the past two weeks talking, but she would be lying to herself. It was more than just that. The guilt of what she had done...the pain from what she had lost...

_'I should have died alongside her...'_

She slowly raised the knife she was using to make dinner with as she looked at her reflection with it—the reflection of a girl that does nothing but caused pain and kills. That has done nothing but live on at the lives and expense of others.

' _Maybe...maybe it would be better if I simply die...No one else would be killed because of me or for me..._ '

She was just tired of everything. Deep down, she knew what she was about to do was an insult to all those who she had killed and gotten killed so she could live on, but she was tired. She was tired of fighting. She was tired of killing. 

She slowly brought the blade of the knife to her neck. Nero and Tamamo were no longer around to encourage her to keep going. To make her feel like she deserved to live. She had gambled their lives to save Altera, and she lost them both. 

' _There's no one left that will remember me...probably for the best. There isn't anything worth remembering about me._ '

At least, that was what she thought. The Moon Cell clearly had other plans. The moment she felt the blade begin to cut into the side of her neck, a voice woke her from her stupor.

"HAKUNO!"

She nearly dropped the blade as that voice entered her eyes. She turned to see a figure she never thought she would see again. A girl with purple hair, wearing the school uniform she used to wear back during the grail war and a white coat over it. The nurse AI during the war. Someone who should have disappeared with the rest of the grounds of the war. She could feel a tear run down her cheek at she stared at the girl.

"S-Sakura...?"


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura wasn't sure why the Moon Cell had reactivated her, at first. The Holy Grail War had ended. Her job as a nurse for all the Masters fighting in the war had come to an end. 

Yet, she found herself reactivated by the Moon Cell and placed within the new ever-expanding SE.RA.PH. The Moon Cell had given her all the info she needed to understand what had happened since the end of the Grail War. A lot has happened in a short period of time, and this new SE.RA.PH. was still recovering from what happened recently.

The fight against the Umbral Star had taken its toll. 

Many of the servants that had appeared here after the Grail War were gone and even the servants of the Sovereign had either disappeared or been lost. She had been surprised when she learned who the Sovereign of the Moon Cell had been. Then again, she was the only one who could have won the war. 

The issue she was made aware of is that Hakuno was missing. 

She was alive, but the Moon Cell couldn't find her. After the battle with the Umbral Star, she disappeared, not that she could blame Hakuno for doing so. Both her servants from the war were missing or gone. Regardless, she was brought back to find and help Hakuno.

It took about a week for her to managed to track her down. She clearly hadn't returned to either of her servant's old territories. This meant she likely was in some part of the ever-expanding SE.RA.PH. that hadn't been claimed. Eventually, she came across a town where people talked about a woman who lived on the outskirts of the town and would come to get supplies before leaving as quickly as she had arrived. 

She only had to ask a few of the people of the town of which direction this person left in before she was on her way. She had figured this was Hakuno or was someone who could possibly lead her to Hakuno. She was really hoping for the former.

Eventually, she arrived at a small home not far off the road leading out of the town. The moment she got close, she could tell something about the place was off. It hadn't been randomly generated by the Moon Cell but more so created manually. 

The only person who would have power would be an advance A.I. or the one with the Regalia. This had to be the place.

She walked to the front door and knocked, hoping for it to open and to see Hakuno on the other side, but she got no response. She tried to open the door and, to her surprise, found it unlocked. She slowly walked in.

"Hello? Hakuno?"

Despite the place likely coming into fruition about a week ago, the place looked barely lived in. There wasn't much in terms of decor. The main room was very simple, being only a few chairs and a shelf with books on it. 

She saw the kitchen lights were on as she slowly approached them. She wasn't sure who she would see. Maybe it would be Hakuno or maybe one of the servants had survived and could tell her where Hakuno is.

What she didn't expect to see was Hakuno holding a knife to her neck. 

"HAKUNO!"

She saw Hakuno turned to her with a shocked look. It made sense. Hakuno probably believed she had been gone for good after the end of the Grail War.

"S-sakura...?"

Her functions as a medial A.I. were already kicking in. She needed to get the knife away from Hakuno and address the wound on her neck before it becomes worst. This was on top of a multitude of things she was beginning to notice with Hakuno that made her realize why the Moon Cell had brought her back rather than just summoning a servant to find Hakuno. 

She slowly approached Hakuno.

"Hakuno, listen to me. Put the knife down and let's talk."

"H-how are you...Have I finally lost it?"

"I am very much real Hakuno."

She touched Hakuno's arms.

"See? I'm here. I'm not a figment of your imagination."

Hakuno kept her eyes on her as her grip slowly loosen and it fell to the ground, creating a metallic clatter. She took the chance to move the knife away using her foot. Afterward, she looked over to see a washcloth on the counter and grabbed it before she put it to where Hakuno had cut herself on the neck with the knife and put pressure on the wound. 

"Do you have a first aid kit around here Hakuno? I need to deal with this wound."

"H-how....I..."

"Hakuno, focus on me. First aid kit: do you have one around?"

Hakuno simply pointed to a cabinet. She could tell Hakuno's mental state was terrible and her appearing out of nowhere hadn't helped. She'd worry about that later. For now, she guided Hakuno's hands to where the cloth was.

"Hold it there, okay."

Hakuno didn't move but, considering she was holding the cloth, she was listening, at least. She went to the cabinet Hakuno had pointed at and, after a few moments of searching, found the first aid kit. She went back to Hakuno, removing the now bloodstained cloth before going about cleaning the wound and putting bandages on it. As she did, she tried to get answers from Hakuno.

"Hakuno, what are you doing out here? Where's Nero or Tamamo?"

Hakuno didn't answer her, not that she had expected one. Something had clearly happened between her and her servants if neither one was here with them. She remembered how they were back in the war. They both cared about Hakuno, and there was no way either one would have let Hakuno go off like this on her own. 

She also crossed out the possibility of Hakuno having done something for the two to decide to break off their contracts. Hakuno was too kind of a person to do anything so horrible that the two would have found it unforgivable. They were both Anti-Hero Servants who had done terrible things in the past.

So then what could it-

"They're gone, Sakura. They died, and it's all my fault."

She looked to Hakuno, who finally answered her question, as tears began running down her face. She finally took notice of Hakuno's command seals to see they were inactive. This only made her have more questions, but that could wait. 

She helped Hakuno to her feet.

"You don't need to try and force it out now. Let's get you to your room, and you take some time to rest."

Hakuno just leaned on her as she guided Hakuno up the stairs to the room she had. She didn't try to fight or go against her or anything. She simply looked at Hakuno and remembered the girl from the war. The girl who was so determined to not die that she managed to overcome a war she was never meant to survive. 

She wanted that Hakuno back. Hakuno was broken right now, but she swore to herself she'd do everything to help Hakuno, regardless of what the Moon Cell had intended her to do or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this might be a more odd take of Sakura but remember, while the person she is based on might be very passive, she is a medical AI. Considering Hakuno's state, I'd figure it makes more sense if she was more direct.
> 
> Let me know what you think and I'll take it into consideration for the next chapter and forwards.


	4. Chapter 4

Hakuno still wasn't sure if she was delusional or her mind has finally broken, making her see and feel things that weren't real. Sakura shouldn't be alive. She shouldn't be helping her or prevented her from killing herself.

Yet despite her attempts to bring herself back to reality, Sakura didn't disappear. She was real, but it was because she was real that she couldn't believe it. How did she come back or, even worst, would Hakuno end up getting her killed as well.

Regardless of whether or not all of this was a delusion or real, she and Sakura ended up in her room and sitting on her bed together. As much as she should probably listen to Sakura and get some rest, she has too many questions. She wouldn't be able to rest until she knew.

"Sakura...how are you here?"

"The Moon Cell brought me back. I wasn't sure why it did until it told me you were missing."

The Moon Cell. Of course, it would try and get her to come back. She's the one with the regalia. It needed her to maintain SE.RA.PH. Yet...

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but I can't go back."

Sakura was silent for a moment. She knew Sakura was probably startled at how much she's changed. Of how hard Tamamo and Nero's deaths were for her.

"Hakuno...I'm sure whatever happened, it wasn't your fault."

"But it was, though!"

She was on the verge of tears.

"I was the idiot that fell for Archimedes ruse. I'm the idiot that got myself captured by the enemy and, in a desperate attempt to prevent him from winning, split myself into three and had two of the three ended up with Tamamo and Nero, respectively. I'm the idiot that ultimately caused them to go to war with each other, fighting over me as they always did."

"Hakuno-"

"And then, the third part of myself that ended up being left behind ended up forgetting everything. At first, Altera treated me like a prisoner, but then...then she started being nice, and I ended up learning all that happened to her...and that part of me decided to do whatever it took to free Altera, even if it meant betraying her former servants."

She could feel tears beginning to fall as she finally let all of this out to someone. 

"And through all that, witnessing Tamamo and Nero die, betraying them...what do I get for it? Nothing. All I did was give Altera false hope only for it to be robbed by Archimedes, and what little control Altera had left was used to kill herself to prevent her from destroying SE.RA.PH. and Earth. The Moon Cell made me Sovereign, and all I have managed to do is caused a war and fail to save anyone."

That was why she wanted to just end it. She had failed as Sovereign. She was too distracted by her own feelings of doubt and pain to realize Sakura had pulled her close.

"Hakuno, you did everything you could. Don't blame yourself for trying to help Altera. You managed to break her free from the Umbral Star's control."

"But I-"

"Please, Hakuno. Just rest. You aren't in your right state of mind for making decisions right now. When you've recovered, then you should make that choice of giving up everything."

She couldn't even argue anymore. She was tried. The little sleep and emotional exhaustion finally took it's toll as she slowly fell to sleep. At least she wasn't alone anymore, as much as she didn't deserve to have company at all.

Sakura sighed as she saw Hakuno finally managing to fall to sleep. She knew it must have been a bad situation for the Moon Cell to bring her back to help Hakuno. Yet after hearing Hakuno's story, it's the worst situation she could have imagined.

Hakuno not only lost her servants, but she was the reason for their deaths. No wonder Hakuno was a mess. Hakuno's first memories were of Nero. For her to end up being the reason Nero died would have broken her. 

She had told Hakuno that she should be making these decisions after she recovers. Yet, she wasn't sure Hakuno could recover from this. 

As Sovereign, she could resummon Tamamo and Nero, or maybe the two will remanifest themselves at some point as rouge servants. Still, it wouldn't be the same Nero and Tamamo. They'll be completely new ones with little knowledge. 

Then there was Altera, the girl that Hakuno made the choices she did to save, only to fail at the last moment. Nero and Tamamo's death would have left a mark, but for her choices to end up with nothing to gain, it would be obvious Hakuno would lose all her self confidence. 

There weren't many options to take to help Hakuno. The few that were ranged from dubious at best to plain wrong to do period. 

'It's to help Senpai, though. Besides, Nero and Tamamo only caused her headaches with their constant bickering. Her forgetting them might do her some good.'

'We both know she would not like that, BB. Even if we tried that, she wouldn't accept any dream reality we put her in.'

She was surprised at first to find out BB had managed to come back when the Moon Cell brought her here. At first, she thought BB would take over to try and get with Hakuno. To her surprise, BB only wanted to help Sakura help Hakuno. Of course, she was her usual self, but she at least had the right intent this time. 

BB sighed.

'That's terribly true. Hakuno is too determine to abandon all this or live in a lie but also too distressed to continue forward. The Moon Cell certainly left us with a problem to fix.'

'It's probably trying to make you pay for what you tried to do on the Far Side.'

'I was trying to help Senpai. Less I remind you, I'm here because you wanted to save Hakuno.'

That was true. She wanted to save Hakuno from her fate of being deleted by the end of the war. Now, she questions if that was the right choice or not, had she known things would have gone like this. 

It was too late for regrets now. Hakuno had made her choices, but she will help her, somehow. Not by putting Hakuno in a blissful dream or making her forget her servants and their time together. They would find a way to help her without such things. 

She heard BB sigh in defeat.

'Very well, we'll do things your way. If I were you, I'd stay there and keep Hakuno company. She clearly needs someone.'

She didn't intend to leave Hakuno. Hakuno would just wake up to the same issues without her. Hakuno once did a lot for her, despite causing her so much trouble in the end. Now, she will return the favor and help her in her time of need.


End file.
